OT: American rules of the road

[James Wilkinson]

Do you really have to merge precisely one car from each lane in order? How regimented.

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per James Wilkinson:

No.

But I hear it referred to as a "Zipper Merge" and the consensus seems to be that it is proper practice.

Very, very little 'Regimentation' on US roads/highways compared to, say, The UK or Germany.

Try starting a thread on the proper way to come down an on-ramp and merge with traffic - and expect to get heated, diametrically-opposed views from many people.

Little or no driver education in the USA. For my money, many traffic tickets should require the person to take a certain number of hours of driver ed instead of just raising revenue for the state.... but that's not going to happen.

[James Wilkinson]

So the motorbike rider was talking bollocks?

In the UK we just seem to be nice to each other. Not as nice as I would like, I always let people in and out when they need it, but when I'm waiting for a gap, I sometimes end up having to barge.

I don't see how that can have more than one view. The vehicles on the onramp should give way (yield) to the vehicles on the main road. But the ones on the main road should try to leave a gap if possible.

Isn't there a driver test you have to pass, just like here?

Only if tickets are for sensible things. I have no problem with those that go fast or run red lights.

[thekmanrocks]

(Pete Creswell) wrote: " Little or no driver education in the USA. For my money, many traffic tickets should require the person to take a certain number of hours of driver ed instead of just raising revenue for the state.... but that's not going to happen.

-- "

Because America was founded by and for people who don't want to follow rules and do not like to be told what to do.

[Dean Hoffman]

The first one? One rule on a motorcycle is to assume no one sees you. The biker kept saying I have it recorded on my phone. He wasn't concentrating on job one apparently. That's to keep one's head on a swivel. I trust the truckers a lot more than anyone else.

[Snuffy "Hub Cap" McKinney]

I had a miserable little '65 MG Midget years ago. Lots of fun to drive when it was running. Then one day I pulled out into traffic and the engine died. Semi just missed it by inches. Went straight home, put an ad in the paper and sold it within a week.

This looks similar to mine - always in the garage with the hood up...

5%29_-_side.jpg

[AL]

That's the way it is in my state. You can pay the ticket or go to traffic school. Both cost the same so you don't save any money. But if you go to school the violation points that would have been assessed against your drivers license are forgiven. That often saves your insurance rates from going up since they have access to your driving record. (Also you can't take the school option more than once a year.)

[gfretwell]

The school is largely a joke. It is just time on the computer with silly questions and a lot of waiting before they ask the next one while some yada yada goes on. It is a good thing you can change screens

[AL]

If it made you drive safer to avoid going back perhaps it worked...

[T]

Hi Pete,

Both Nevada and the PRC (People's Republic of California) have "traffic school" where you can work off traffic tickets. You have to sit through about a week of condescending.

-T

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per James Wilkinson:

Neither do I.

OTOH, neither do the dozens of dissenting people whose posts I have read...... -)

[gfretwell]

It wasn't my ticket, I took it for my wife. I haven't had a ticket for over 30 years

[Ralph Mowery]

The traffic schools and such are good for several things. It gives money to the state, employees people, and maybe makes you think about the traffic laws. It is just another way of punishment for those that break the laws. For every law there has to be some form of punishment, or the law is not effective.

[James Wilkinson]

I've never seen problems on a UK onramp. The drivers on the ramp match their sped to the main road and find a gap. Half the drivers on the main road try to make a gap, the other half don't bother.

[James Wilkinson]

I agree, truckers are much better drivers. Although one that gave me a lift once told me of a (female) employee he told to drive one of his trucks, and she "didn't realise it had a heavy load" and managed to capsize it going round a roundabout. He had a heavy load in the truck at the time aswell, and even as a passenger I could tell it was pulling something big.

[notbob]

Is that why the feds told me I would NOT be receiving any of the $.36/hr back pay I was cheated out of by my temp employer (about $800, total) cuz the Federal Labor Relations Board (their office in San Francisco) told me, and I quote:

"Yes, we've found your company to be in violation of two separate federal labor laws, but we consider such violations as mere "administrative infractions" and their is NO penalty."

Two yrs later, the San Francisco office of the Federal Labor Relations Board, the agency to which I originally complained, no longer even existed, and I didn't get a cent of the $$ owed me. I tried to inform others of this scam --who's gonna pay if there's no penalty?-- and I was told, over and over, "I don't wanna hear it", "Want me to lose my job?", etc.

This over 35 yrs ago. You'd be stunned if you really knew the number of regulatory laws that are jes window dressing.

nb

[gfretwell]

When I was in Maryland, traffic school was an administrative process, not a legal punishment. I refused to go and all that happened was a notation was made on my "permanent record". I suppose that once this became apparent, the states used the carrot of lifting your points to make up for the lack of the stick. I know in the "conference" I was at (30-40 people in a big room) they were not happy when I questioned them about the wording of the "recommendation" that I go to the school and what will happen if I don't. I was sent home quickly after that and I assume the cajoling started up again. Back in the "double nickel" days I was playing the computer game (juggling tickets, points and court dates) pretty hard because I was well known to the police. Once that unconstitutional abuse of federal power was repealed, I went back to "safe driver" status.

[gfretwell]

The zipper merge works best at the junction of a cloverleaf where you have people entering and exiting at the same place. When done in an orderly fashion, the merge moves along at 100km/h. For a second or two, you will be within a car length of the one in front and behind you. It just takes one tourist from Ohio who wants to stop and wait for a gap to screw the whole thing up.

[AL]

If it made your wife drive safer to avoid going back perhaps it worked...

[gfretwell]

If this is an administratively prescribed traffic school, you do not get the discount.